


Carry Me

by cloakedrabbit



Category: The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: Angst, Blood, F/M, Hurt/Comfort, It worked, and told her she could read it when she finished, i wrote this for a friend who needed inspiration to do her homework
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-08
Updated: 2019-12-08
Packaged: 2021-02-26 00:49:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,485
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21714850
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloakedrabbit/pseuds/cloakedrabbit
Summary: Her knight doesn’t react immediately. Instead, he shuts his eyes and takes a slow, concentrated breath, like he’s attempting to ground himself. The motion causes her heart to race a bit, alarm bells ringing in her ears. Just how exhausted is he? A hand comes to rest on hers, where she’s wiping a patch of dust off of his cheek with her thumb, and he finally opens his eyes again. The electric blue color that normally shines in his gaze seems almost pale and empty, like the very life has been drained out of them. “No,” He says, so softly she almost misses it, and then he begins to sway in place. “I’m sorry.”-Or, Link and Zelda find themselves injured after a fight and have to help each other out a bit.
Relationships: Link & Zelda (Legend of Zelda), Link/Zelda (Legend of Zelda)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 365





	Carry Me

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this for my best friend who needed inspiration to finish her homework. I told her when she finished, she could read this. It worked.

Maybe they were getting ahead of themselves.

Or rather, Zelda thinks _she_ might be getting ahead of herself. While the Yiga Clan is farthest from the most threatening force in Hyrule, they aren’t exactly a walk in the park either. And Zelda, wielding probably the most basic form of swordplay in the kingdom, knows she doesn’t stand a chance against even the weakest member of the group. And internally, she’s reprimanding herself for being so reckless.

But darn it, she wanted to try. If she couldn’t manage even the most basic form of self defense, how could she cope if her first and last line of protection fell? Not that she believed Link would ever fail her. That boy, winded though he was, still continues leaping around with the grace and energy that matched no other. Though she doesn’t get to witness much of this particular fight during her attempt at being her own hero.

She gains a single thought as she gets thrown across the chasm: _I should have stayed behind Link,_ and the last thing she feels is her head slamming into the canyon wall behind her with a sick _thud_. Perhaps her foolish act had sealed them both for death. Or maybe just for her. She doesn’t know. The rest of the fight does not exist in her memories.

What she does remember is that when she wakes up, she has no idea where she is, and no idea of how much time had passed. In fact, gravity doesn’t seem to be working quite right. Or rather, gravity is working just fine, she’s just draped over Link’s shoulder, her blonde hair sweeping the desert floor with every step he takes, the air dry and slightly colder than she remembers it being.

And this is where she finds herself on this fine night, staring at the ground, blood rushing to her head, the sky much paler than it had been when they had first encountered the Yiga.

For several long moments, she’s content to stay right here in silence. She can feel a pounding in the back of her head where her skull had met stone, and her muscles feel weary and torn from her brief attempt at combat. Thunder roars in her ears. Pain. Exhaustion. Her mind wanders, desperately yearning for when she’ll be able to take a hot bath and crawl into a comfortable bed.

After several moments of silent introspection, she realizes that she can feel a subtle quaking of Link’s shoulders beneath her ribcage and fears that she is being a hindrance to her knight. Who knows how long he had been carrying her for? This boy would go for days should the need ever arise.

“Link?” She mutters softly, almost inaudible, but clarity snaps into place as Link halts his steps, and she pulls her head up to drain the blood back into her system. He says nothing, of course he says nothing, so Zelda continues with, “I think I’m alright. Can you let me down?”

Her knight seems to hesitate, and Zelda squirms a bit, impatience beginning to bite at her. “I just have a headache, I can stand.”

Link finally kneels down, allowing her to find her feet, and her shoes sink into sand. A dizzy spell falls over her and she reels a bit, Link grasping her arm firmly to keep her in place, his other hand against her shoulder. When she meets his eyes, they’re full of concern, and she feels her heart flutter a bit.

Hoping to save face, she waves him off, her center of balance clicking into place. “I’m quite alright, Link. Thank you for that.”

At first, he doesn’t let go. He’s staring down at her arm like it’s a lifeline, with a gaze so intense it could have burned holes through her skin. But Zelda eventually gives his grip another tug and he relaxes his hand, allowing her to stand on her own and take in their desert surroundings without his assistance.

He’s unusually wary. The poor boy is probably exhausted. Zelda swallows down her guilt and attempts to redirect the attention off of her humiliating failure, and the unnecessary toll it had taken on her knight. “Alright, well, the stable isn’t too far from here, right? It’ll be getting dark soon, so let’s make haste.”

She takes a short glance at the sky before promptly heading South East, waiting for the sound of Link’s trailing footsteps behind her. But they don’t come. After a moment, she turns around, confused, and finds him standing still with his gaze locked towards the distance. “Link, what’s the matter?” she asks, but her voice seems to bring him out of whatever thought he had gotten lost in, and his attention returns to her upon her call. He shakes his head and begins to follow, and she only lingers for half a moment before turning forward to take the lead again.

Zelda doesn’t look back much during their walk. Mostly out of embarrassment. Her knight is probably furious at her for taking such a risk. And, yeah, she could admit it was well deserved. What a fool she was. There was no part of her that wanted to witness the displeasure in his gaze, so she keeps her face forward and continues walking until the stable becomes visible in the far off distance. If they were lucky, they’d get there before nightfall.

After a short time of walking, she realizes that she can’t hear Link’s footsteps behind her anymore.

She turns around again, spotting him just a few paces back. He’s staring forward, seemingly lost in thought. For some reason, he looks a lot smaller. Something about his posture seems off. With a small sigh, she assumes this is his way of voicing his frustration at her, and so she turns to approach him, ready to get this over with. She releases a heavy, exasperated sigh. “Alright.” She says, lowering her gaze in an attempt to come across as apologetic. “I’m sorry, Link. I did something very foolish, and I-“

Her knight glances up at her, looking more hesitant and on edge than usual, and his apprehension causes her to lose her train of thought. Concern sweeps through her when she looks into his eyes. They’re glossy. Dazed. She stops right in front of him and frowns deeply, reaching up to cup his face in her hands.

Link seems startled by the sudden contact, rearing his head back reflexively as though her hands were made of fire, but she holds tight and looks into his eyes. His gaze averts hers, looking at the ground, the distant skyline, anything but her. “Are you alright?” She asks softly, turning his face to get a better look at him. Surely, she wasn’t imagining things?

He finally locks his gaze with hers, blinking twice. His eyebrows are furrowed downwards, and there’s tension in his forehead, causing small wrinkles. His teeth chatter slightly. Zelda gives him a dissatisfied frown. “You must have worn yourself out carrying me. I’m sorry. We’re almost to the stable, and then we can rest, alright?”

Her knight doesn’t react immediately. Instead, he shuts his eyes and takes a slow, concentrated breath, like he’s attempting to ground himself. The motion causes her heart to race a bit, alarm bells ringing in her ears. _Just how exhausted is he?_ A hand comes to rest on hers, where she’s wiping a patch of dust off of his cheek with her thumb, and he finally opens his eyes again. The electric blue color that normally shines in his gaze seems almost pale and empty, like the very life has been drained out of them. “No,” He says, so softly she almost misses it, and then he begins to sway in place. “I’m sorry.”

His eyes roll into the back of his head. Zelda has half a second to snag him as his knees buckle and he collapses forward into her arms, the sudden weight against her releasing a startled yelp from the back of her throat. “ _Link!_ ” She cries out breathlessly, shifting as she fastens her arms around his torso and sinks to her knees. The warmth of his body is suddenly too hot against her and she feels her heart racing in her chest. Trembling, her breaths coming quickly, she fights to keep herself from falling all the way to the sand. His limp form is heavy against her, suffocating her. “Link?”

In her attempt at getting a sturdy hold on her knight, she feels something wet beneath her hand and she recoils slightly, glancing down above Link’s shoulder. Dark crimson paints her palm and she gasps, frozen in place, panic beginning to bubble in her chest. She can feel Link’s heartbeat as she holds him flesh to her body, a slow, steady rhythm that assures her that her knight is still breathing, though very faintly. It doesn't compare to the energetic drum that resides in her own chest.

She looks around. The desert storm is starting to pick up, obscuring the stable from her sight, and she isn’t sure if she has the strength to carry him all the way there, even on a _clear_ day.

_A rainy night. Guardians around them. Link, laying limp in her arms, her forehead pressed into his soaked chest with tears in her eyes, her breaths coming out in horrified sobs._

Not again, not again, not again.

He winces. It’s a broken, pained sound that whistles out between his teeth, and she shifts her hold on him. Her heart shatters at the sound. “Link… I… I can’t carry you…” She whispers, tears pricking the corners of her eyes.

He seems to flinch at the sound of her desperation, moving in an attempt to lift himself on trembling arms, but he cannot even begin to manage his own body, and as soon as he separates from her, his weight falls into her hold once more. A subtle wheezing fills the silence where Link writhes in agony against her, attempting to draw in deeper breaths.

She opens her mouth and begins to yell, begging for someone, anyone, to find them. To help him. Her wails only fall on the deaf ears of the merciless desert. No one comes to their rescue. _Stupid, stupid, stupid_. Her knight falls still, his breathing ragged and pained.

How _dare_ he. Though it didn’t compare to the desperate fear she felt suffocating her with every breath, mixed in with her concern was a deep, boiling anger, overflowing into the tears rolling down her face. A flame bursts in her chest, and her eyes bare oceans.

“How dare you!” She yells at him, holding him tighter. “How dare you not tell me you were injured!

Link does not stir to defend himself, and she feels her veins run cold.

For a moment, Zelda does not move. The sun is nearly touching the canyon tops, and she knows that their window of returning safely is beginning to close. Link is a deadweight in her arms, his breaths coming out raspy and ragged, and the realization dawns on her that he had carried her all the way across the desert with a stab wound in his abdomen, and didn’t make so much as a sound.

_What do I do?_

She sniffles once, and then presses her lips together in a thin line, squeezing her eyes shut. No, she would not sit here and wallow. She refuses. Zelda grits her teeth, attempting to stand. Her muscles ache in protest, but she pushes up against her knight’s body and turns herself around, managing to position Link over her back and shoulders, hooking her hands under his legs. It takes a considerable amount of effort, and she feels herself slip and slide on the desert sand, nearly losing her hold on him as she maneuvers.

Once Link is held securely on her back, the desperation and fear seems to melt away just the slightest bit, and hope returns to her.

“I’ve got you,” she says quietly, more to herself than her knight, sucking in a deep breath. Determination sparkles in her eyes. She fixes her grasp on him and then takes a step forward.

After several moments of successful baby steps, she stumbles, releasing pained breaths between her clenched teeth. They’re not too far from the stable. They can’t be. Surely, she could manage to get him there, or at least within earshot to call for help. But her physical strength is minuscule, and the sand is causing her feet to sink in further from the extra weight, and her head is pounding, and the skyline seems to be swimming. _What a disaster._

One step at a time.

The sand gets kicked up from the brisk night air, and at times, she loses sight of the stable. But after every few minutes or so, it makes an appearance again, a beacon of hope that she relies so heavily on to save them. She stays the course, her mind wandering to think about anything but this predicament she finds herself in. _Link will be okay. He has to be._

Stars begin to appear across the night sky. Zelda shivers.

Twenty minutes pass. The stable is nearly within earshot. Though, this becomes the last thing on her mind as she feels Link shift against her back and make a surprised noise of wakefulness, and her heart flops over in her chest.

“Link?” She asks, and he makes a small, pained hum in response. “Hold on, we’re almost there, I promise.”

He winces, burying his face in her shoulder, and the movement causes her heart to melt. Never before had she seen her knight so close, so reliant, so vulnerable. She feels her face go hot and tears begin to swell again. “Why didn’t you tell me you were injured?” She whispers, her voice wavering dangerously.

Link shakes his head against her shoulder.

“And what’s that supposed to mean?” She quips back, feeding a bit of her anger, tightening her hold on him. “As your princess, I command you to be honest with me about any matter of importance. And do not think for one second that your health is not included in that list!”

Link is quiet again. She swallows, pushing her luck. “Promise me.”

He burrows his face further into her shoulder.

If only he would be more open with her. More honest. More… himself. She feels her anger continue to rise, but fights to keep face. Four more steps of silence, and she wonders if he had slipped out of consciousness again. “Link-“

“I promise.”

The sound of his voice always catches her by surprise. Always makes her heart flutter and her cheeks flush red. She sighs, feeling her anger subside in response to his pledge, and she shakes her head incredulously.

“What am I going to do with you, my knight?”


End file.
